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How much harder is compared to ACM ICPC?



Not too much, the difficulty comes more from fewer problem choices. ICPC at the regional level has many questions to select from and usually has at least 2 problems that can be solved in under 5-10 minutes (we had a badass on our team with under 1 minute submissions). I rarely anticipate solving the most difficult GCJ problem, even the small input case. In the beginning rounds the first 2-3 GCJ problems are usually on par with easy-medium difficulty ICPC problems. As you get higher up in the rounds they get more challenging.

Edit: Should also point out that since you're not in a controlled environment, you have full internet and library access unlike ICPC where you have to rely on memorization and standard libraries.




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